Something Wicked
by Saia-Kurume
Summary: The first night Charlotte spent in Domino, though it wasn't intended she had no issues with punching Seto Kaiba in the face.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: First story on this account here; constructive criticism and reviews are greatly appreciated!

To her credit, as little as it might have mattered when seventeen year old Charlotte Langspur first met Seto Kaiba, it hadn't been her intention to cause him physical harm; in fact the dirty, bloodied raven haired girl had been looking for no violence in the first place, just a hot meal, or at least something that hadn't already spent its remaining tenure on the floor of some disgusting third rate greasy spoon. Not that she'd gotten anything out spending half a day looking, scraping the metal linings of beaten and dented in trash bins or dumpsters, and as such here Charlotte sat, huddled up under the tattered, sickly green awning of a cheap electronics store, the only sound at exactly twelve thirty in the morning being a fuzzy, obviously doctored perpetually running loop of an old duel between…well, Charlotte wasn't exactly sure who, only that they were obviously quite into the projected battle.

"Geez…" Charlotte muttered, pulling her legs, covered in her single, very well broken in pair of jeans, to her chest in an obviously pathetic effort to cease the very near demonic growling erupting from underneath the confines of her equally drab white tee shirt. "I'm so hungry….people throw out food they don't eat all the time, right? So why the hell can't I find any of it?" Just a little, like, a cheeseburger or something…okay, well maybe not a cheeseburger, even in her half starved state Charlotte was aware of that being a bit much to ask; hell, even half a piece of bread would have done just fine.

"Hm…and here I was thinking that the city's underbelly had at least some small measure of class. Guess once again I was expecting too much, but that's what you get when you come down to the less desirable parts of town I suppose." Oh great, the shiny, spotless shoes; though in comparison to her own chewed up sneakers Charlotte had never owned a pair of such shoes, much less even tried them on at a store, the half starved teen knew more than enough to understand what she would find if she happened to look up past those black loafers, and it would be something she definitely wouldn't end up liking. "And just what do you think you're looking at? Drooling the way you are without so much as a sliver of class…pathetic."

"I'll stop drooling when you learn how to dress yourself properly." Easier said than done, however at the very least Charlotte recalled it being good manners to stand tall and at attention when speaking with someone, no matter how irritating said person might be and so after much unfortunate laboring the scraggly teen managed to upright herself with a huff of irritation. "Green and purple, really? For wearing such nice shoes, I would think you'd have a better understanding of how to not look like you dressed yourself in the dark."

"Big words from an urchin girl who looks like she hasn't had a shower or sleep a day in her life." Well…it might have been true about the shower (after all, it's difficult to get one when you can't even get a decent meal), but sleeping anywhere, as unladylike as it might have been, was something Charlotte had always prided herself on; and coupled with that irritating smirk and a lack of any real food for easily two whole days slamming a dirty, comparatively small fist into the blue eyed stranger's face, no matter how rude it might have seemed to the occasional night owl passerby still gave Charlotte quite a sense of satisfaction.

"Go run your mouth around someone who cares." The sensation of flesh twisting into more of the same slung over someone else's body ended up being, as Charlotte decided, possibly even more satisfying then the idea of getting something to eat. "Okay? I really hate people like you."

"Mr. Kaiba sir, are you alright?"

"Urk, you wretched little street monger! Don't you know who I am?"

"Mr. Kaiba sir, there isn't enough time for this! You have a company meeting at seven this morning and you haven't gotten any sleep….besides that, Master Mokuba will wonder why you haven't come home." Knowing full well that behind those thick black sunglasses (though really, who wears sunglasses at night?), a number of vicious glares were being directed at her person, Charlotte merely spat dryly at the scuffed up, gum littered sidewalk, waiting until with a smirk and a ridiculously dramatic turn the hideously dressed man and his many suit clad compatriots left and she was left alone once again. Still though, seeing, illuminated under a nearby sickly glowing streetlight the telltale long black car pull away was more then enough to pass a sigh and that's exactly what Charlotte did, only after collapsing back to the ground. What was that bit of information the long haired girl had picked up on so long ago, something about how long a person can go without food and water? Well, really it didn't matter, fact was that Charlotte was now aware of the exaggerations that often come to mind when people say they are 'dying of hunger'.

"Might as well sleep, if I can't eat." Shifting into an uncomfortable but still manageable position against a cheaply painted display window front wall, it was with the resolve to try again tomorrow that Charlotte finally fell asleep, so deeply that in the middle of such a cold night the seventeen year old coul only subconsciously register a sudden comforting warmth. And though unable to say it, the grey eyed teen could not help but to be immensely grateful, as her lips curled into a smile for the first time in many, many months.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Chapter 2 has been completed! On a side note, this story takes place just after Duelist Kingdom, right before the encounter with Rebecca Hawkins. Ratings and reviews are always appreciated!

When Charlotte finally awoke again, she was immediately aware of two very obvious circumstances; for one, the growling of her stomach surely could have woken up a hibernating bear, and secondly the seventeen year old had absolutely no idea where she was. Someone's bedroom, that was pretty obvious; if not a little small, it still looked to be pretty comfortable, outfitted with all the sparse essentials of anyone going through puberty (which meant Charlotte's rescuer had to be at least somewhat close to her own age, give or take a few possible years) including but not limited to a desk and chair, a near floor length mirror and the comfortable bed which the stormy eyed teenager was currently sprawled out on. Which was all well and good she noted, but where exactly was she, and who had put her here?

"Hey, glad to see yer' awake; we were startin' to worry ya'd never wake up, y'know?" Managing to sit up with a mildly irritated grunt of exertion, after taking a few minutes to look over the figure now leaning in the doorway, it was more than Charlotte could do to expel a sigh of relief and allow the corner of her mouth to twitch up into a half smile of sorts. "I mean I knew ya said ya didn't know much Japanese but c'mon, fallin' asleep outside an electronics shop? Least you coulda' done would have been to find a hotel or somethin'."

"Hush up," Charlotte groaned with mock annoyance. "I told you I _speak_ Japanese, not read it; you're just lucky I didn't wind up in some gang hideout or something." But regardless of where she'd ended up, seeing the tall, somewhat lanky blonde in person for the first time was quite reassuring. "Anyway, it's good to see you Joey; I heard about your placing in Duelist Kingdom, congratulations on taking second. I trust you got enough money out of that to help with Serenity's eye operation?" Even though the online barrier between Charlotte and the blond had been long reaching it hadn't stopped Joey from boasting about how he'd taken out some of the greatest duelists in Japan, so naturally Charlotte learning about the final placing for Pegasus' tournament had been only a matter of time.

"Yeah, she's doing good; I'll have to introduce ya' to her sometime. But enough about that; sounds like yer pretty hungry huh?" Smiling rather sheepishly, Charlotte ruffled up her already messy hair.

"Starving; enough to practically eat my dueling deck." The teen admitted, thinking fondly of the set of cards kept safe and secure in the inside pocket of her less then element friendly coat. "But first I was wondering, where exactly am I? I mean don't take it personally but I really don't think this is your room."

"Nah, this is my friend Yuugi's room; ya' already know about Yuugi, right?" Charlotte merely nodded; kind of hard not to know about the King of Games, winner of Duelist Kingdom. "Well anyways I was tellin' him how it was weird that ya' hadn't shown up yet so I figured ya' must have gotten lost or somethin'; I mean we took all this time to set it up so ya' could come out for a visit. So I was plannin' on going out to look for ya' and Yuugi wanted to come along, said two pairs of eyes were better than just the ones I've got. And wouldn't ya' know it, he found ya' all curled up on the side of the road!"

"Well then I'll have to thank him." Charlotte was quick to agreeably decide. "Though it goes without saying I'm glad you helped him out; it _was_ you who carried me here, right?"

"Ah, well..." The blond stuttered, rubbing his neck with a blush. "It wasn't _that _big a thing, I'm just glad you're okay is all." Charlotte had more or less been expecting that answer; in the time she'd gotten to know Joey, the American had quickly learned just how earnest and quick to help a friend he was. In any case, that made it no surprise that Charlotte had gotten along with him as fast as she had. "Anyway, Yuugi'll want ta' know yer' awake now, so I'd better go get him."

"No need, Joey; I'm already here." So then, this was Yuugi; he certainly was a small little thing, with quite possibly the most interesting hair Charlotte had ever seen (though in a way it was strangely becoming of him). "You must be Charlotte, right? Joey's told me quite a lot about you so it feels like we're already friends in a way." Moving to shake the younger boy's hand, immediately Charlotte decided this was a person she could easily get along with; it had to be in those eyes, deep purple, seemingly perpetually smiling and full of so much honesty that the taller girl knew she could entrust everything to him if need be without worry of betrayal. "I'm Yuugi Motou; it's nice to officially meet you and not hear everything about you through Joey; from what I hear you're a pretty good duelist, too."

"Aha, well I'm sure Joey exaggerated a lot; I can duel but I'm sure compared to the King of Games I'm nothing special." Taking a firm hold of the offered appendage and giving it a firm shake, Charlotte smiled. "I'm Charlotte Langspur; thanks for going with Joey to look for me. I mean, you didn't have to."

"Well that's what friends are for, right? And speaking of friends…" Unable to help from unconsciously covering up her stomach when it growled ridiculously loud, Charlotte tched with a soft blush. "What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't get you something to eat? If we can keep enough food around here to feed _Joey_, I'm sure we've got enough to at least stop your stomach from growling like that."

"Hey now, I don't eat _that _much! Do I?"

"Are you sure it's not a problem? I mean, I wouldn't want to take anything from you just because I haven't been able to pay for a good meal for a while."

"It's not a problem, I'm happy to help."

"Hey! Why won't anyone answer my question?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Finally had time to write chapter 3; finals were quite distracting and I'm still rather busy. This chapter also features an OC by the name of Airi, belonging to my good friend yugioratemlover, who will be appearing quite frequently in this story from now on. If you like her, please check out the story Sister of Games, which features Charlotte as well.

"Honestly Yuugi, I can't thank you enough for all this." Though Charlotte had protested all the way down the stairs to the kitchen of the smaller and younger boy that it wasn't really necessary for him to feed her, out of what the dark haired duelist could only assume was the sheer goodness of his heart the purple eyed male had refused anything but the option of giving her something to eat…and well, as starving as she'd been, upon seeing a refrigerator full of food Charlotte had lost the will to argue anymore. And though it might have just been a few lunch meat sandwiches, the grey eyed seventeen year old was hardly in a position to complain about what she was being fed.

"It's nothing, I'm just happy you feel a little bit better, and Joey says you're a good person so the least I can do is give you something to eat." Oh Joey…without the blonde sitting next to her, scarfing down easily twice his weight in the strangest concoctions of sandwiches Charlotte had ever seen (really, who would have put tuna fish and peanut butter together besides Joey?) coming to look for her, Charlotte was more than sure she would have never found a way out of downtown Domino. "Erm, if you don't mind my asking, and I hope this isn't prying too much, how exactly do you two know each other? I mean, Joey's never really talked about you all that much."

"What?" Charlotte inquired, nearly choking on her cheese and bread. "Never? Joey, what's wrong with you?" Appearing somewhat startled by the obvious and rather gentle slap on his arm, the brown eyed blonde grunted, not even bothering to finish swallowing before responding in his own defense.

"I've had a lot on my mind! C'mon Char, ya' know I talk about ya' all the time! I talk about her….right Yug'?"

"Ah…not really, Joey." The light eyed teen shrugged. "I'll apologize for him Charlotte; he's a little bit…forgetful at times."

"Don't worry about it; I know he doesn't mean to slip things." Taking a bite out of her third sandwich, ham and swiss this time, Charlotte was quick to wave a dismissive hand. "Wouldn't be surprised though, if it's already gotten him in trouble."

"Hey, stop talking about me like I'm not here!"

"I'm sorry Joey, did you say something?" Earning a glare, Charlotte merely chuckled and continued onwards. "We're pen pals; I first got an e-mail from him a couple months ago, wasn't it? We traded stories for a while and then I decided it would be an interesting experience to come out for a visit, maybe check out the dueling scene overseas."

"Charlotte's a professional duelist on da' American circuit," Joey mumbled out, bread crumbs flying pretty much everywhere, some of which the blackette was quick to dust off her shirt. "And ya' said ya'd be prepared ta' come over but I guess ya' weren't as prepared as ya' _thought _ya' were, huh?"

"Just eat your sandwich, you black hole." Charlotte teased. "I got a little confused with the signs and whatnot; I mean I studied all the basics but it's a lot different over here then it is in America so I got turned around pretty fast. And then I ran into some guy who obviously didn't know how to properly dress himself; I mean really, unless you get ready in the dark, who wears purple and green? A little pretentious if you ask me..though I'm not really in a position to judge I suppose." Seriously, what with all the strange outfits and hairstyles she'd seen in just two days alone, with her average straight black hair and chewed up sneakers it was pretty obvious that there was still a lot to be learned about what exactly constituted as proper Japanese culture.

"Wait a minute! Char, dis' guy ya' said ya' met up with…what exactly did he look like?" Shrugging, Charlotte contented herself with taking another bite of her sandwich.

"I don't know, brown hair, blue eyes? Kind of intense, and obviously he had some issues though I couldn't begin to say where they come from." True, just because the grey eyed teen was unable to place the source of such problems didn't mean she was unable to identify with them for reasons she wasn't about to divulge anytime soon, but that didn't make it necessary to take out one's problems on other people in such an overtly cruel fashion.

"Wait, that sounds like Seto Kaiba!" Yuugi was quick to exclaim.

"Now that you mention it those guys in suits may have called him something like that…should I be concerned by the fact that I punched him in the face? " And cue another round of sputtering bread fragments. "Geez Joey, say it, don't spray it."

"You punched moneybags in da' face? And I missed it?"

"Yeah, sorry. If he comes around again I'll be sure to do it a second time, just for you."

"Ya' promise?" Snorting, Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"If it'll make you happy Joey, I'll punch Seto Kaiba in the face as many times as you want." Rather a violent deal to be making, but if the blond wanted it that much then who was Charlotte to argue?

"What's this about punching Kaiba, now?" Whatever response Charlotte might have been about to make was quickly interrupted by a choking Joey and the immediate need to thump the near suffocating blond on the back with a spread palm.

"Geez Airi, you scared me!" Well the hair, if nothing else, was certainly impressionable; straight as a pin and laced with same strange color combinations as Yuugi, even to someone like Charlotte who was now just barely getting to know the smaller boy it was pretty obvious that the two were related. Actually, save for the height difference and the fact that this second pair of purple eyes were considerably more concerned and naturally worrisome the two looked near identical.

"Sorry, didn't mean to, but we can consider ourselves even for all the times you _tried _to scare _me_." When all Joey did was let out a sheepish, apologetic laugh, the slim female merely shook her head with a quiet sigh. "Oh…I see you're up and feeling better, that's good. Though I'm not quite sure why Yuugi didn't just put you in my room instead, it would have been less leg work. I'm Airi; Joey said you two are pen pals?"

"More like best friends!" Joey exclaimed after finally managing, thanks in part to Charlotte, to stop choking on his sandwich.

"I don't really think we're best friends exactly…" The blackette shrugged, though she didn't bother to interrupt when Joey continued onward.

"She punched old richie rich Kaiba in the face ya' know; man, I wish I coulda' been there ta' see it!"

"You punched my ex-boyfriend in the face?"

"Wait, that rude as hell, can't dress himself properly idiot is actually considered someone you can date?" A brief pause when Airi merely nodded. "…I feel so bad for you." Charlotte intoned sympathetically.

"Don't ya' worry," Joey assured. "Everyone does. Alright then, if you're finished eatin' then let's go take you on a tour! So ya' won't get lost again!" Sensing some obvious hesitance on the grey eyed girl's part, Joey frowned. "What, ya' don't _wan_t ta' go look around?"

"Well no, it's not that; actually I think it would be very helpful to go on a tour, at least to see the local buildings. But, you know…can you stop eating long enough to do that?"

"Geez Char, can't you be nice ta' me for like, a minute?"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait for those of you who actually read this story; I've been incredibly busy, plus I was in a car accident so um...yeah. Please enjoy Chapter four.

Figured it was time for a disclaimer; as much as I wish I did, I don't own Yugioh. Or Airi, who belongs to YugiorAtemlover. But I do own Charlotte!

"So Charlotte, how are you liking the new school?" Shrugging, for the thousandth time in just two hours the blackette was quick to tug on the hem of her sickly blue colored skirt in an effort to somehow shorten the amount of leg currently being shown.

"Its fine, I guess; wish I could have transferred into the right age group, but it's probably better this way, right?" Unable to help from smiling, the seventeen year old made it a point to lean almost all her full weight on her blond friend, practically knocking his taller frame over despite the obvious height difference. "I mean, all the fun things happen when I hang out with you guys; well maybe not that whole mess with Rebecca, but everything else." Honestly, Charlotte hadn't expected to see the smaller American duelist so far out of the states, and all over such a stupid thing as her believing Yuugi's grandpa had taken her blue eyes white dragon. Then again, the young child had always possessed the tendency to look before leaping; Charlotte had figured that out a long time ago considering she'd once beaten the pigtailed child beyond repair (not worth the weeks of screaming and whining by so much as a long shot).

"I'm just glad she's gone; the way she was treatin' Yug…still doesn't sit right wit' me." Joey muttered, leaning so far back in his desk chair that Charlotte feared he'd topple it over and consequently bash his head against the probably not so well kept school floor.

"Oh Joey, I'm sure she didn't really mean it," The purple eyed youth reassured his friend with a pacifying gesture. "She was just upset and confused; anyway we're all friends now, right?"

"Yeah sure…friends and all that. But there's one person I'm not eva' gonna be friends wit'!" Puffing her bangs out of her eyes with a sigh, Charlotte was quick to apply force to the blond's head to shut him up.

"If I have to hear about this new game shop one more time I'll take you out behind the woodshed. Yuugi, do we have one of those here? Even if we don't I'll find one and take you behind there, don't think that I won't." Sure, it was quite unfortunate that Yuugi's grandfather was receiving competition when according to the smaller boy he'd been working so hard for so long, but the blackette had already made a trip to the Black Clown Game shop and it wasn't all that impressive; after all, the thing was centered around trends, not nearly as comfortable as the older man's property.

"Wait, dat's the one that sells Dungeon Dice Monsters, right?" Arching a brow, Charlotte nodded wordlessly; to be honest she wasn't too surprised that Joey already knew about it, but that fact that he seemed so interested in it…more than a little concerning. "But don't think I've gone in there yet! I just pass by it on my paper route; gotta make a little extra spending cash so all the prize money can go to Serenity's eye operation." Perhaps fortunately for Joey, whatever remark the seventeen year old had been about to make was quickly and quite suddenly interrupted by the loudest shriek she'd ever heard; sounded like a dying cat…or _several _dying cats.

"Oi….hang on guys, I'm gonna go see what all the commotion is about." Of course, this was much easier said than done; you would have thought that there was some sort of superstar in the building from how many girls Charlotte was forced to push aside, effectively creating a gap for the rest of the group to follow through so as to avoid any unnecessary bodily harm.

"Oh I missed it, show me again!"

"Please?"

"Ladies, try to keep your eyes on me this time alright? Not that I mind having to do it again." Oh god, really? Unable to help a snort of laughter from escaping, to her credit Charlotte was deft enough to look the other direction to avoid seeming rude.

"Hey, who _is_ this guy?" Biting down on her bottom lip to keep from snickering, Charlotte merely shrugged, unable to help from being utterly mystified by how anyone could find such a simple trick so amusing; hell, back where _she_ came from tricks weren't worth watching unless they involved at least two white tigers and some saws.

"I can't say I've ever seen him before; but check out that headband. Pretty sweet right? I have a belt that looks just like that."

"Hey, what are we all talking about over here?" While Tea and Joey very quickly brought Airi up to speed, Charlotte was kind enough to tune them out; even though she'd only met Tea very recently, just a few days ago actually, the brunette wasn't really the kind of person Charlotte had ever really gotten along with. A little too peppy for her tastes.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to intrude…" Oh god, what was up with that hair of his? "But I heard you play a little duel monsters, is that right?" And just like that, Joey whirled back around, crossing his arms with a look of smugness which Charlotte ordinarily would have smacked right off his face; however, seeing how they were in public she kept her hands to herself, proceeding to idly chew on her thumbnail. "Oh I'm sorry, how could I forget to introduce myself? My name is Duke Devlin."

"Now you listen up; if you know anything about dueling you'll have heard about Bandit Keith, intercontinental champion. Yeah, I wiped the floor with him!"

"Way to be modest Joey."

"Oh, just let him have his moment." Not that it seemed to last very long; like so many times before, Charlotte gathered, much of the focus was directed to Yuugi pretty quickly, though the newcomer made sure to carve out a few seconds to smile quite flirtatiously at both Charlotte and Airi, the former of which quirked a brow. Airi was quick to sigh and shake her head, as if to say it was better to ignore him and just not ask.

"You're Yuugi Motou, champion of Duelist Kingdom, right?"

"Hey dicey, what've you heard about me, Joey Wheeler? Hm? Huh?" Sensing the whole thing to be going in a bad direction, Charlotte sighed and placed a hand on the blond's shoulder, pulling him back a fraction of an inch; no need to get so close.

"Not a thing." Oh, damn; not the best thing to tell Joey, especially since it was so rare an occasion that anyone gave him recognition at all from what the American duelist had been told online. "But why don't we a play a little game and you can show all these ladies what you're made of? It's simple, just involves a cup and dice." The blackette was starting to sense a very obvious theme with this newcomer. "I bet I can move the dice into my right hand without touching the cup."

"Yeah, right, next you'll be saying you can fly around the room!" Oh, Charlotte would have loved to see that!

"You really shouldn't underestimate the power of the mind; perhaps the dice are already gone from under the cup. Of course, that's probably beyond your comprehension."

"What? No way! Lemme' see!" Stormy eyes widening, the slim duelist reached out for her obviously flustered friend in an effort to prevent him from effectively losing the bet, but Joey was already on the move, much faster then she would have given him credit for. "See, you lied; the dice are still right there!" Charlotte could only run a hand over her face then, especially when the taller male picked the dice up off the table with an irritating smirk of victory; it was such a dirty but effective trick, even Yuugi had seen it coming.

"See, I moved the dice into my right hand, and I never touched the cup. That makes me the winner."

"That's a dirty trick, you're nothin' but a faker! If you were any kind of real man you'd play a real man's game! I challenge you to a game of Duel Monsters!"

"Sure, that's fine." Unable to help from narrowing her eyes, Charlotte carefully and rather nonchalantly leaned over to Airi.

"Why does he keep doing that with his bangs?" She muttered, somehow fascinated by the way he continued to twirl and play with his hair. "I thought only girls did that."

"Believe me, I've seen him do weirder."

"But since this is your game, I do have a small condition. I'm afraid I don't have a deck of my own so how about we open up new packs and make new decks. That's fair, right?"

"What's fair about that?" Yuugi was quick to exclaim.

"Yeah, if you aren't playing with your own deck then its just luck!" Charlotte agreed. "I mean Joey, there's a ton of cards we've never even seen before!"

"Aw c'mon, have a little faith. Wasn't I a finalist in the championship?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"Then it's settled; but how about we make a little wager? If I win you'll have to do whatever you say for an entire week."

"Fine, but if _I_ win you have to close down your fancy game shop! There's no way I'm gonna lose!"

"He's toast." Tea muttered.

"Burned to a crisp," Tristan agreed.

"He sure does like to get in over his head, doesn't he?" The blackette sighed.

"Aw c'mon Char, you can't serious think I'm gonna lose to a guy wit' a dice hanging from his ear?" Not wanting to say anything, Charlotte merely shrugged; it was true that Joey was good, but Charlotte herself had met plenty of people much better than her.

"Then it's settled; we'll hold the match today after school. I have a state of the art dueling ring in my game shop." Of course; totally not surprising. "Of course, you're all invited; wouldn't want you to miss any of the action. See you all later then."

"Joey, you're an idiot."


End file.
